Los Angeles

Restaurants in Los Angeles

Look at all the fit people jogging along the beach and you’ll wonder how they stay so thin. After all, Los Angeles restaurants feature a dazzling mix of celebrity chefs, locavore bistros, classic diners, great taquerias and any other global cuisine you can imagine. Dine at some of the best restaurants in Los Angeles:

The A.O.C.’s name stands for Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée—the French system regulating the quality of local wines and cheeses—and this Los Angeles restaurant is a magnet for foodies and oenophiles. Highlights include pork rillettes served with pickled onions, and arroz negro with squid arrives with a big dollop of garlicky saffron aioli. Even if you don’t stay at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows in Santa Monica, its restaurant, Fig, is worth a stop for its renowned farm-to-table menu, with ingredients from the Santa Monica Farmers Market. It’s upscale but not stuffy: features include the charcuterie and cheese bar, and a taco bar at the Sunday brunch. If craft beer is a food group, check out Beer Belly, a gastropub in Koreatown, which also does great brats and ribs. You could eat round the clock in their neighborhood, which even has a few 24/7 restaurants such as Myung Dong Kyoja, known for its noodle soups, dumplings and kimchi.

Japanese street food has arrived in Santa Monica with the opening of this perky omusubi shop. The tasty, grab-and-go treats consist of warm Japanese rice balls stuffed with fillings like chicken curry or miso mushrooms and wrapped with nori (seaweed).

Farm-to-table meets nose-to-tail at this casual New American bistro/butcher. The kitchen uses California-raised meats (including unusual cuts like pig’s ears and goat chops) and local produce, while the charcuterie, bread, and even the pickles are made in-house.

This chic rooftop bistro settled atop the Pershing Square Building may not be the highest point in downtown, but the unique view gives you the delicious illusion that you’re floating amid the skyscrapers.